"go with the flow.."

This is molding paste and acrylic paints on a 16" x 20" canvas; titled "go with the flow..". I painted this for my class for a linear perspective painting. For this, the boardwalk needed to be linearly drawn otherwise it would look off. The sunset was another linear point since 1) the sky is based off of where the sun is setting and 2) the shadows created from the posts in the sand are angled differently due to where they are in comparison to the setting sun. I had a lot of fun painting this one, and I LOVE the overall relaxed feeling I get when I look at it (and I think part of that is the warm tone the overall painting has).


I've recently been getting feedback from my classmates and others (via Art Attack) about my paintings and a lot of people have complimented me on my ability with texture. The "crashing waves" have that look/feel in this painting (as an example). Personally, I like adding texture to various things in my paintings, and hope I can continue to build on this aspect while continuing my painting adventure. In my opinion, I like what the textures bring to the painting and how each viewer reacts to the textures.

"Two Halves Make A Whole"

This painting is acrylics on an 11" x 16" canvas; titled "Two Halves Make A Whole". My sister wanted me to paint something for her and gave me a few things she wanted included in it: a random and wild background, and a broken heart. Since my sister liked the first painting I did ("Dirty Little Secret"), I tried to make the background similar to that one. For this I threw some tunes on and just let colors, brushes, and knives flow over the canvas. The heart is then split in two for the broken heart aspect --with more reasons for this underlying (that are a little too personal to share with the web).

"Best Friends"

This is a free idea painting that I did for my best friend. It's acrylics on a 12" x 12"; simply titled "Best Friends". This painting was a lot of fun to do --since most of the time that I was painting it I was reminiscing about the good (bad, hilarious, ugly, and everything in between) times that the two of us have shared. A few times while painting I would have to shoot her a text to remind her about some of these times too. HAHA! I know I should have been focusing on the painting, but I think sharing these stories with her while I was painting helped this painting evolve into its final form. It's a pretty bright, bubbly, and overall fun painting to look at (in my opinion) and that pretty much sums each of us up; along with the friendship we share. 

photo time

I've decided that it's time to venture into other areas of art... so I'm starting a PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG (you can click the link there and it will take you directly to it; otherwise you can access it underneath my profile over on the left hand side <----). Enjoy! :)

"Just Add Water"

This is the third painting I did for my painting class. It's acrylic paints on  a 16" X 20" canvas; titled "Just Add Water". For this one I didn't really follow any sort of theme as I did previously for the first two paintings for this class. Our professor had a basket of fruit set up in the middle of the room for us to paint (for the second unit of fruits and vegetables), and since I had just previously painted my own version of a fruit bowl --I was not overly excited to paint another one. My professor then told me to paint whatever I would like. I sat looking at different objects around the room before I found one.... a watering can. This painting did not look anything like this finished project when I started. Since I had no idea going into class of what I was going to paint, I felt a little like I was forcing myself to paint since I had two hours of class time ahead of me that I didn't want to waste. After leaving class and having a few days to think about what I was going to do; I came back to class and created this instead over the first watering can painting. I like how the background has things going on but they're subtly seen since the eye is drawn to the watering can. Yet if you let your eyes wandering over the entire painting you will find little things here and there. I'm hoping to get some good comments/critiques from my class (or anyone who's looking at this now) that will help me keep figuring out my painting style.

"Fruit Bowl #2"

This is my second painting for my painting class. I used acrylic paints on a 16" x 20" canvas; titled "Fruit Bowl #2". The theme for this second unit was: fruits and vegetables. Hence, the fruit (+ one vegetable) bowl. :)  The inspiration from this one came from an art work (glue and pastels on black construction paper) that I did back in my first grade year of school (1993, age 6; see photo below). After the completion of my pastel, my art teacher at the time entered it into an art contest -my piece won and was displayed at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa) for a period of time. When this unit came up, I was discussing some ideas with my mom when she said, "You need to do another fruit bowl!" I was hoping to keep the fruit in the bowl as similar as possible to what I had originally done, but at the same time still make it its own painting. I'm very happy with how this one turned out. It's life-like but not as precise as a photograph. However, I don't think this is really my style. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist so when I first started painting it, I wanted it to look very realistic (which it does, but my initial vision for the painting did not look like the end result at all). I'm still trying to figure out what my painting style is, and I think this painting helped me with trying to find out.

[[photo of 1st grade fruit bowl coming soon for comparison]]

"a world full of geometry"

This is the first painting that I did for my class. For this, I used acrylic paints on a 16" x 20" canvas; titled "a world full of geometry". The overall unit or theme for this painting was: simple geometric figures. This is what I mental created before class started, and was greatly surprised by what everyone else was making. Most students in the class did a still-life of the cube, flower pot which a basketball sat on, and other trinkets that sat around the cube. That was not something that appealed to me at all. As the professor originally stated that our paintings need to come from the heart; I stuck with what I had. Not only did a feel a stronger connection to paint what I had already mentally drawn up, but it also just felt right. 


I love the randomness of the overall painting, as well as the uniqueness of each shape. There are no two shapes or lines that are the same. Even if they look the same on here, I can guarantee that the naked eye will pick up different textures when seeing this in person.

Learning has no age limits

Last December (2010) I graduated from the University of Iowa. That meant that the year and a half I have to wait until I *hopefully* (fingers crossed) get into dental school will be filled with work, studying and applying to dental school, and the start of paying back my student loans. This doesn't sound like a lot of fun, so as a way to add some fun I decided to enroll in a painting class. Not only would I be learning different skills to grow as an artist, but now I would also have someone help give me some directions with my paintings (tell me things I'm doing well and should keep doing, and give me advice on things I should change). 

The class started on January 10, 2011, and so far has been an amazing experience for me. And even though it's a class; I don't see it that way --and definitely don't dread going to it like I did with many of my courses for my undergrad degree. There are many units that I think will challenge me to paint outside my comfort zone, but ultimately will help me shape and grow into a better painter.

While many of my paintings I've finished so far have been all over the board on the content (and usually relate to the mood I'm in), the paintings for my class already have a theme for what they will contain. However, my professor told us from the beginning that if we weren't feeling the unit that we could paint whatever we were feeling. He said this is the most important part of painting since it needs to come from your heart. Ryan also gave me this advice before my first painting. I think this is a very valuable lesson to learn, and I hope that I will continue to remember this advice the more and more that I paint.


I'll be adding the paintings that I've completed from my class on here since they are also part of the process of me growing as an artist; and should be included in it's documentation. I'm hoping to see a noticeable change in my paintings at the end of the semester when I'm able to compare this first and last paintings of the course. I'm very excited about this and looking forward to it. Hope everyone continues to enjoy what I create! :)

"flower."

This is my fourth painting. I used acrylic paints on a 12" x 12" canvas; titled "flower." My little sister (age 6) has seen each and every painting that I've created so far and kept asking me if she could have something. She is a very girlie-girl who loves flowers, the colors: pink, purple, and light blue, as well as butterflies. I tired to take these favorites of hers and incorporate them into a painting for her.  For this one, instead of throwing on my usual mix of music for when I paint --I decided to listen to music with strong female singers, or songs by female artists that I have an awesome beat that makes you wanna dance. I think my favorite thing about this painting is the overall brightness. My first few paintings were not as bright (although there were some bright colors within; they were more darker in appearance than this one).


=side note= 
    Once I had finished this painting and let it dry, I showed it to my sister.  The first thing that came out of her mouth was "That is so beautiful! I love it!!! Can I have it Katie?"  I cracked the biggest smile and told my sister that I painted it for her. She was absolutely THRILLED, and the look on her face when I told her it was hers gave me one of the best feelings in the world. I only hope that I can keep doing things that will produce the same sort of reactions in others.  :)

"checkmate"

This is my third painting. It is on an 8" x 10" canvas board; titled "checkmate". For this one I happened to be bored at work one day and began doodling on a piece of paper. I doodled a sketch of the chess pieces next to one another, and when I went to put my sketch on canvas I ended up inverting one of the pieces and blending them together. I really like how the chess pieces turned out. For the background I imitated a chess board with the board "dripping" near the bottom.  I think it adds a little character to the painting. This one is pretty basic, but I like the simplicity of it.

"slowly losing sanity..."

This is my second painting.  It's acrylic paints on a 8" x 10" canvas board; titled "slowly losing sanity..."  So far I've painted when I've been in an extreme emotional state and this one was no different.  I was struggling with my sudden loss of independence --threw some tunes on and painted as a therapeutic way to cope with this change.  This is what I created. There are many different areas throughout this painting that I really enjoy, and hope I can continue to create similar things as I continue painting.

"Dirty Little Secret"

This is the painting I did while receiving a painting lesson from my roommate Ryan. It's acrylics on a 18" x 24" canvas; titled: "Dirty Little Secret". I had my favorite songs playing while I painted this; from there I let the brush and knives move over the canvas in whatever way felt right to me. Pure heart and emotions are in this one. I immediately fell in love with this painting, but since Ryan had painted and given me something (along with the free lesson I received) it only seemed right and fair that I gave him something. I therefore gave Ryan this painting and hope he continues to inspire people with art.

The Beginning

The best place to start is the beginning.. 


College has been one of the best times for me as an individual. I've learned quite a bit about myself while changing towards the person I will continue to be in life. I've also met some of the most amazing people and look forward to maintaining these friendships through our lives. 


Recently, I was re-introduced to art by my roommate Ryan. He's an art education major, and while we lived together I decided to get a painting lesson from him. After the first lesson, I was hooked and had a continuous itch to paint again.  I finally bought my own brushes and paint supplies and have began my adventure of discovering my inner artist. 


Decided to start a blog about it so that I can 1: get some feedback/criticism from people about my different paintings; and 2: hopefully I'll be able to see and document myself grow as an artist. Hope you enjoy this as much as I have enjoyed creating and painting my imagination for all to see. Who knows --maybe this will inspire someone else to discover their inner artist too :)